1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a baby crib, and more particularly to a foldable baby crib having a pivotal mattress support or mattress platform.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is frequently a need for moving baby beds, play pens, and changing stations, from place to place. While there are a number of different collapsible cribs available on the market to facilitate transporting or storage, many of these products require significant manipulation and effort before a crib may be collapsed into a folded configuration or assembled from a folded configuration. Additionally, conventional collapsible cribs are prone to being folded or collapsed accidentally by the parent or child while in use. For example, crib gates typically have a plurality of sections which are hinged together and secured in place by a latch or other type fastener. Sometimes, however, the latch becomes disengaged from the keeper when the child shakes the crib, or the child may intentionally release the latch so that the gates fold inward, creating a pinch point at the hinged joint between the gate sections. If the child in the crib should inadvertently place his fingers between these hinged sections, and lean or push outward against the gate, his fingers may become trapped and squeezed between the two sections, causing pain and possible injury.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,680,155, issued Aug. 1, 1972 to J. R. McMann, discloses a foldable baby crib, including a mattress supporting frame with foldable legs, and foldable head and foot boards at either end of the frame. The crib sides, which normally extend upwardly from the frame, are adapted for vertical sliding as well as pivotal movement over the mattress supporting frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,513, issued Jul. 29, 1975 to R. W. Boucher, discloses a foldable infant""s crib that is fitted with special end gate locks, leg locks, drop gate locks., and a special floor panel. The crib has front and rear gates connected by hinged sectional end gates to form a rectangular enclosure. Posts at the four corners of the crib support extensible legs so that the crib can be positioned at various elevations above the floor. A complicated latch mechanism must be operated in order to move or adjust the height of floor panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,074, issued Dec. 29, 1987 to D. R. Wallace et al., discloses a crib in which the mattress can be selectively supported at two different heights with respect to the sides of the crib. In one embodiment, the mattress support is a sheet of plywood securely held in a groove in each of the facing end gables. The front wall is a drop side wall slidably secured to the end gables. To change the height of the mattress, the drop side front wall is slidably removed, the sheet of plywood is slid out of one groove and slid into another groove, and the dropside front wall is again slidably secured to the end gables.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,254, issued Aug. 20, 1991; to A. J. Frank, discloses a crib including a top frame and a base panel. The crib side walls each comprise a pair of hinged side panels which are hinged to each other, to the base panel, and to the top frame so that the side walls collapse inwardly, drawing the base and top frame together. The crib includes two end panels which are hinged to the top frame in order to rotate inwardly from a vertical position to a horizontal position on the same plane as the top frame.
Other patents relating to foldable cribs include U.S. Pat. No. 3,654,645, issued Apr. 11, 1972 to B. D. Lee (foldable crib adapted to accordion fold into a package having the general shape of an ordinary suitcase); U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,411, issued Aug. 30, 1977 to J. G. Peterson (portable folding crib housed in a suitcase or similar piece of luggage); U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,138, issued Dec. 31, 1985 to T. Hwang (foldable baby bed comprising a foldable bed frame and a foldable bed base); U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,524, issued May 26, 1992 to H. B. Antosko (folding crib mode from cardboard material); U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,399, issued May 7, 1996 to K. Weng (folding play crib); U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,755, issued Jun. 9, 1998 to L. Huang (foldable devices for a crib frame assembly); U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,781, issued Jan. 18, 2000 to R. Cone II (portable juvenile crib); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,185,762 B1, issued Feb. 13, 2001 to S. Homeyer (collapsible baby bed including a fabric cover which covers a collapsible tubular frame).
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a one hand folding crib solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The one hand folding crib is a crib having folding end walls and a pivotally mounted mattress platform. The crib defines a generally rectangular enclosure formed by a front dropside gate, a fixed rear sidewall, a pair of collapsible, folding end walls, and a mattress platform pivotally attached to the posts supporting the rear sidewall. Each end wall comprises a pair of hinged end panels attached to the adjacent corner posts by hinges. The mattress platform includes a panel mounted on a frame. The frame is pivotally attached to the rear corner post by pins. When folded down, the front edge of the frame rests on pins extending from the front corner posts.
The mattress platform serves to maintain each end wall in its fully open position. In order to collapse or fold the crib, the mattress platform may be swiveled upwards and each end wall may be inwardly folded for compact storage. The corner posts are mounted on casters so that the crib is portable.
In another embodiment, each of the rear corner posts is provided with a height adjustment track. The height adjustment track allows for height adjustment of the mattress platform without removal of the mattress platform from the crib. By adjusting the height of the mattress platform, the crib may be transformed from an infant""s bed to a playpen or to a changing station. To employ the crib as a changing station, the mattress platform is raised so that a caregiver may attend to a baby in the crib without having to stoop or undergo excessive strain. To employ the crib as a playpen, the panel is lowered to ensure that the baby playing in the playpen will not climb over the crib walls.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a one hand folding crib which is easily collapsible with one hand.
It is another object of the invention to provide a one hand folding crib which will not collapse or fold while in use.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a one hand folding crib that can be configured into a playpen.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a one hand folding crib that can be configured into a changing station.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.